Montana Shifts Away from Closed-End RE; Mass PRIM Discloses $781M

Montana Board of Investments is restructuring its real estate program away from closed-end funds toward SMAs and long-term perpetual-hold vehicles with vertically integrated operators, trimming annual real estate commitments to roughly $150M from a prior range of $250M–$400M. Real estate director Ethan Hurley told the board that closed-end structures impose repeated blind pool and reinvestment risk while crystallizing frictional costs at each fund cycle, and described ODCE-benchmark core vehicles as strategically myopic. Montana is winding down that exposure and concentrating with a tight group of pure-play operators via SMAs, all sourced through direct cold outreach. The pension's private equity program reflects the same philosophy, with more than 70% of the buyout portfolio in funds below $1B and total fiscal year 2025–2026 commitments at just over $500M.

Among other allocators, Massachusetts PRIM disclosed five new commitments totaling approximately $781M at its May 21 board meeting, including €150M to Altor Equity Partners VII and $250M to an Affinius Credit SMA in real estate, and proposed changes to its Emerging Manager Direct Hedge Fund Program that would raise capacity to 10% of the hedge fund portfolio and broaden eligible strategies. Elsewhere, Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System disclosed six private markets commitments totaling $175M across private equity, real estate, and infrastructure; and Cook County Annuity and Benefit Fund awarded international small cap equity mandates of up to $225M each to Driehaus and Causeway following an RFP that drew 37 responses.

On the GP fundraising side, AllianzGI held a third close of its Allianz Global Diversified Infrastructure Equity Fund III at approximately €1B; Ares Management has raised about $850M toward a $1.5B target for its first closed-ended real estate debt fund, with a final close anticipated in the first half of 2027; and Varde Partners is targeting $1B for its first Asia fund dedicated solely to private credit, with planned deployment concentrated in India, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

In people news, Bowdoin College appointed Boris Raykin as senior VP and CIO, succeeding Niles Bryant after a national search; Raykin has been at Bowdoin since 2021. Separately, H.I.G. Capital added three professionals to its Capital Formation Group focused on the private wealth channel, drawing from Monroe Capital, Sculptor Capital, and Neuberger Berman.

Read on for all the day’s fundraising news headlines.

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